Interiors UK 2012: Celeb spotting: LLB, a flushed George Clarke, plus Barbara Chandler’s Love London

Interiors UK wouldn’t be complete without a few stars of the interiors world and the dashing King of Flamboyancy himself was at the show, Laurence Llewelyn Bowen, appearing far too healthy and tanned for a cold January day. He looked as dapper as always but I was kinda disappointed he wasn’t in this year’s shades of purple or orange (see later blogs….).

I think at this point he was saying either boring interiors were firmly out of fashion or was telling the interviewer he didn’t like their line of questioning 😉

Also speaking at the show was Gorgeous George Clarke, of The Home Show and Restoration Man. After his seminar he had a little sit down in the designersblock pop-up pub The Local. Clearly he was a little overcome at seeing Team Moregeous and had to wipe his brow. Entirely understandable 😉

He felt much happier once he realised we only wanted a snap of his good side and got on with his interview…..

Funny one of Bud from designersblock looking entirely unimpressed with his pub’s star guest:

I thoroughly enjoyed Barbara Chandler (or Twitter’s @sunnyholt)’s talk on journalism and PR, with some fabulous insider tips on how designers / creatives can get their work looked at and, more crucially, published.

As design reporter for the Evening Standard, Barbara has clearly seen all manner of PR faux pas and was happy to dish the dirt to help listeners avoid the same mistakes. Some examples:

Always include an interesting and exciting subject line.
Don’t attach hard or slow to open attachments but get your info in the body of the email
Don’t rely on huge high res images which block up journalists’ inboxes but send small easy to download ones
That said, make sure you have high res images which can be speedily sent or accessed for when journalists want to cover your work
Write a clear, concise story, your story – what, where, who, when and why
Always include your contact details on every email and even every reply
Have a short bio on your web-site which can easy be copied and pasted by journalists
Having a launch? Include postcode, Google map or tube stop if applicable
Never send a CD which isn’t labelled on the actual disc, amazing how many people do this
Make contacts, one at a time, then ask that contact for their help & contacts. Nurture them, then one plus one plus one.
Read the papers / mags you want to be in and note the journalist or writer’s name, then contact them.

Brilliant advice from a woman who KNOWS what she is talking about! Designers note, Barbara is also a creative with years of successful photographic experience behind her, so she understands the process from both sides. Iconic London images she’s taken are currently appearing on everything from Digitex homeware to Ercol sofas as part of her Love London series: